Offensive Breakdown: The DDM

*Disclaimer: This is my understanding of the basic concepts of this offense. There are literally more individual variations of each offense than there are separate offensive sets. I don’t claim to be an expert at any variation of said offenses, I just do my best to understand the basics.*

The Dribble Drive Motion offense (DDM) has taken the basketball world by storm. Much like how the spread offense has penetrated every level of football, elements of the DDM are now being used by everything from club teams to professional teams. Unlike more traditional offenses that rely on advancing the ball via the pass the DDM, as the name would imply, uses dribble penetration.

At first glance understanding how the DDM works seems like a daunting task. In reality the offense in the half-court is based on a few simple concepts:

-Attack from the weak side.
-Everyone rotates to fill the open spot when the ball moves forward.
-The ball handler has the option to dump to the post, kick out to the wing, or score.
-Always keep proper spacing.
-The post player always dives to the opposite side of the lane.

Basic Continuity

In this very simple diagram you can see the basic continuity that makes up the offense. The Point Guard (1) drives the ball looking for the lay up. He has to read the defense to determine what to do. If the post defender helps over to stop him then he should pass to the Center (5). If the wing defender helps over to stop him then he should kick out to the Wing (3).

You can see that the Shot Guard (2) rotates over to fill the PG’s spot and the opposite Wing (4) moves up to fill the Shot Guards empty spot. This movement also opens up a back pass to the SG. After the PG gets rid of the ball he moves over to fill the spot left open by the opposite Wing. Now looking at the floor it looks nearly identical to the original set. You now simply rinse and repeat.

This is the most basic continuity that makes the offense work. Of course things are added to this, but this shows off the underlying concepts that everything else utilizes.

The DDM relies very heavily on the players being able to read what the defense is giving them. If you have a very skilled post player who has the advantage over his defender you can start the play the reversing the ball to the SG at the top of the key. The post player can then post briefly allowing the SG time to attempt a pass. If that pass isn’t there then the post player moves to the other side of the floor to switch the strong and weak sides. The play could then be run with the SG making the first drive.

Moving Without The Ball

On top of the basic concepts, you can also add rules for how to move without the ball.

1) Never move toward the ball. This destroys spacing.
2) If the ball is dribbled towards you around the outside then you either:

a. Cut backdoor
b. Set a screen

Again, reading the defense is key here. If your defender is over playing you then setting a screen would simply clog things up; and if your defender is sagging way off then going back door is useless.

This is the DDM broken down into a simplified dribble penetration continuity offense. I know it isn’t much, but honestly I don’t know what else to talk about. If you have any questions feel free to post them in the comments section. I am more than happy, no in fact I would be ecstatic, to answer your questions to the best of my ability.